Here’s a quick overview of some of the latest developments within the Cisco TelePresence portfolio:

• Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence (Jabber Video) replaces Movi
  

Cisco announced in January that they have officially changed the product name of Cisco TelePresence Movi to Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence (Jabber Video). Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence is a soft client that extends the benefits of in-person video collaboration by broadening telepresence access to more people. Jabber Video works with a PC or Mac and a webcam or USB camera to provide high definition video communications anytime, anywhere.  Jabber Video is available in both on-premise and cloud options to meet the different needs of customers.

• TelePresence Provisioning 2.0

Cisco are expanding their multipoint offering and launching new advanced Telepresence MCU capabilities with the launch of the new MCU 4.3 software release.

Some of the benefits include:

• Ease of use: From interoperability with Cisco and multi-vendor endpoints to end user experience; conference controls & in-call menus rendered by the MCU on the main video connection are accessible via endpoint remotes or video phones.
• Larger scale video: Increased Full HD video capacity on the MCU MSE 8510.
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) Integration: Enhances video phone and ad hoc multipoint conferencing within Cisco, and with customers, colleagues, partners, and suppliers.
• Hybrid content mode: Allows maximum quality and interoperability for content sharing.

In addition to the new MCU 4.3 release, customers can get a look at Cisco’s newest MCU 5300 Series which will be previewed at Cisco Live London. This state-of-the art MCU will be the industry’s first hardware expandable appliance MCU –introducing new stacking capability to the market.

• Cisco TelePresence Touch 12

Cisco are extending Touch capabilities to the entire TelePresence endpoint portfolio with the Touch 12.

Touch 12 devices will support Cisco TelePresence System 3010, Cisco TelePresence System 3210, Cisco TelePresence System 1300 Series, Cisco TelePresence System 1100, and Cisco TelePresence System 500 Series endpoints.

PLUS See all the latest developments at Cisco Live London 2012!

Cisco Live 2012 lands in the UK this week between January 30-February 3 at the ICC London ExCel. There will be a host of demonstrations and you’ll be able to see first-hand the latest developments from the Cisco team and how you can revolutionise the way you work through the deployment of video collaboration!

Some of its exciting features include the ability to connect with three other endpoints on a video call, high-definition 1080p60 video quality and 1080p15 content sharing and a new wall mount for easy and discreet mounting.

Click here to find out more about the SX20 >

This news comes only shortly after Cisco introduced the new MX Series, their latest room-based video conferencing units.  The Cisco TelePresence MX200 and MX300 are value products within the MX Series of multipoint endpoints.  These competitively priced, easy-to-install products help turn a meeting room into a place where you can meet with colleagues and customers anywhere in the world through video communications! Offering users a high definition experience and with the ability to share content in HD, these products are designed to be set up as easily as a TV and whether you opt for the 42-inch (MX 200) or 55-inch screen (MX300), you should be ready to make the first video call in 15 minutes!

Back in a press release from October this year, Cisco announced these imminent product launches by highlighting the importance of providing small businesses with technology solutions that don’t require a large capital outlay and that can be installed and managed without a lot of IT oversight. With these latest products for small and medium sized businesses, customers can deploy multipurpose and personal endpoints and connect those endpoints to a hosted service, reducing the complexity and costs with TelePresence which have been hurdles to adoption for smaller businesses in the past. For enterprise customers, these products are also perfect for quick and easy deployment, allowing them to grow and standardise their video estate and increase usage and adoption which will ultimately boost productivity and reduce even more travel costs!

It was announced earlier this year that Cisco has a 52% share of the video communications market – making them the market leaders by some distance. With their focus now firmly on the small to medium sized market, you can only see Cisco going from strength to strength in their quest to power the new way of working through face-to-face collaboration!

Studies show that flexible working helps to increase productivity and innovation whilst boosting employee engagement and retention. In contrast to this, new research from O2 highlights how the UK’s current economic climate is preventing the introduction of flexible working practices within SME’s, with 41% of office workers feeling under pressure to be present in the office as a result of economic conditions and 27% of employees also feeling they are being prevented from flexible working by their line manager.

On the launch of a new service aimed at promoting flexible working within UK small businesses, David Plumb, O2’s General Manager for Enterprise, said: “For growing numbers of employees, work is something they do rather than a place they go. For businesses, meeting these expectations can be a challenge but getting it right can increase productivity, harness innovation, reduce cost and provide employees with a better work/life balance.”

Unified communications is more commonly seen as an integral part of the ‘new way of working’.  Despite the tough economic conditions, there are still many UK small businesses who are realising the true value of being able to collaborate anytime, anywhere. By giving staff the ability to work flexibly and remotely, these businesses are seeing an increase in productivity which is ultimately boosting the bottom line.

Video conferencing could be a key part of your unified communications strategy and could help keep your team stay connected whilst they are working remotely. Desktop video conferencing is now more affordable and easier to deploy than ever. With networks becoming better, the quality of the experience is also more superior than you’d ever imagine. Cisco TelePresence Movi is the next generation PC-based video communications experience that can be installed on your own laptop to enable you to connect face-to-face with colleagues, customers, partners and suppliers in high definition.

So maybe it’s time to implement flexible and remote working in your business? And with unified communications and video conferencing in place you can always catch up with with your peers as if you were actually in the office!

The warning from The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) comes in conjunction with new research which indicates that 50% of British SMB’s expect there to be no disruption to their business operations during the games. From the research carried out for Deloitte, a staggering 55% of London-based SMB’s do not expect the Games to impact them at all and even more surprisingly, only 14% were concerned about transport issues. Less than 10% were concerned about staff availability, according to the research, which is also alarming due to the fact that during the Vancouver 2010 Games, 28% of organisations experienced higher levels of absenteeism than normal.

Experts predict that the event will bring 11 million visitors to the capital, resulting in an extra three million journeys on the busiest days. The influx of tourists, athletes, officials and sponsors in and around London next summer offers a massive opportunity for SMB’s to capture extra business but it is also sure to put an almighty strain on an already stretched transport system.

Dr Helen Hill, policy director at the LCCI, warns businesses to plan ahead, “The Olympic Route Network will have a direct impact on some businesses and they must get to grips with the plans to ensure they can get their staff to work and their deliveries and services to their premises” she said.

With the transport system being put under additional pressure, London is sure to come to a standstill on a regular basis during the Games, which will cause delays for commuters and staff travelling in and around the city for meetings.

To prevent business being brought to a standstill, a number of companies are investing in video communications prior to the Olympic Games. Video conferencing and telepresence are being implemented as a way of replacing face-to-face meetings, which results in a quick return on investment from travel savings but also boosts productivity through increased collaboration.

By deploying video throughout your business, you’ll not only be able to ensure that you’re equipped to navigate the challenges that the games will present but also be able to react quickly to take advantage of the business opportunities that are available to SMB’s!

To check if you’re ready for the Olympic Games next year, why not assess your preparation for the games, read Cisco’s Games Readiness Checklist and make sure you can go that extra mile for customers during London 2012!

Video conferencing and in particular telepresence systems, have long been regarded as exclusive to the Fortune 500 and more commonly used by the more senior executives within these larger global organisations. Both Cisco and Polycom have acquired video conferencing software companies recently, and have focussed on making video communications more accessible to the masses. Video communications adoption is increasing in response to several converging trends; video quality is improving as the costs are declining, internet speeds and networks are now able to offer an improved collaboration experience for remote workers and video conferencing is replacing travel in tough economic conditions.

Within the larger enterprise, the industry is starting to see video deployed across all levels of the organisation – not just in the boardroom or in the CEO’s office. More and more companies are starting to see the collaboration benefits of desktop video endpoints and software-based video conferencing platforms.

Products like the Cisco TelePresence EX Series now means that staff across all levels and departments can visually communicate without having to step away from the desk, whether they are joining a meeting in a telepresence suite or collaborating with a colleague on the other side of the world using a webcam. Cisco TelePresence Movi enables remote workers to stay visually connected to colleagues, customers, partners and suppliers regardless of location by simply using their laptop or tablet.

Cisco announced this week that they are taking further strides forward to extend their telepresence technology beyond enterprise meeting rooms, by introducing a free client application for ad hoc participants to download. Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence, is a free application designed to let just about anyone with a PC or Mac join a telepresence session. An enterprise or small business with an in-house or hosted telepresence capability can create an invitation that can be sent to participants by email and includes a link to download the Jabber Video software and join the meeting. Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence will go into testing soon and is expected to have a launch date early next year.

This move itself clearly outlines Cisco’s strategy to make video more accessible, and it also point’s towards a clear demand for desktop video conferencing. By making high-definition video communications available to anyone, whether through deploying more endpoints or through video conferencing software on desktop PCs – companies will benefit from a more productive, efficient and happier workforce.

The CDP Global 500 report, which examines carbon reduction activities within the the world’s largest public corporations, also found that 45% of the companies surveyed are now reducing and reporting reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions, compared to just 19% last year.  It was particularly interesting that the results of the report were discussed in a live broadcast to 10 cities around the world including Mumbai, London, New York, Sao Paulo and Berlin via Cisco TelePresence, the next generation of video conferencing technology that cuts carbon emissions by reducing the need for business travel. The quality of the Cisco TelePresence experience is demonstrated in this live event, check it out here – I think you’ll agree the quality is fantastic!

A growing number of companies, especially those with global locations, are turning to video communications to reduce the need for travel. In doing so, these businesses are not only making huge savings by reducing the costs associated with travel but from an environmental perspective, they are reducing their carbon footprint and becoming more environmentally friendly!

Cisco, as a company, are setting the standard for other companies to follow. Not only do Cisco help other companies reduce their carbon footprint through their innovative TelePresence solutions, but they had the top disclosure score in the Information Technology sector this year and in 2009 and 2010, Cisco were also #1 and #2, respectively.

According to the results of the survey, the IT sector seems well engaged on carbon reporting, despite the perception that corporate social responsibilty (CSR) initiatives are not given enough focus within the world’s leading companies. These results support the fact that carbon reduction is becoming more important with 95% of Global 500, IT-sector companies responding to the CDP survey which is a higher percentage than any other sector.

Whether the leading global companies are simply concerned about the bottom line and the deployment of video communications as a green initiative is just another benefit on top of the fact it saves money is still open to debate but the results of this survey show that the world’s leading organisations are working smarter and the environment can only benefit from that!

How green are you?

Each time you take a flight, board the train for a business meeting or drive for your daily commute to the office, there is a negative impact on the environment, not to mention the drain on finances and your productivity.

Calculate the impact of your business travel to see if there is a better way of working?

Most recently, Transport Minister, Norman Baker called on commuters and businesses in London to think differently about travel during next summer’s Olympic Games. He encouraged businesses to look at flexible options for their staff and consider allowing employees to work from home or change shift patterns so that not all staff are travelling in and out of work at the same time. He also encouraged businesses to consider using video conferencing to avoid travel.

Businesses need to think ahead NOW to avoid having staff stuck in traffic or being left unable to get into work because of transport chaos. Productivity doesn’t have to suffer because of the games, there are various tools available to businesses that will allow them to work smarter and still be able to stay connected to colleagues and customers. During the Vancouver 2010 Games, 28% of organisations experienced higher levels of absenteeism than normal (BT, Vancouver Research, 2010). By ensuring staff have the ability to work remotely through various communication tools, you can minismise the effect of absenteeism throughout your organisation.

Video communciations have long been considered a ‘nice to have’ communication tool but a growing number of businesses are using video to keep employees connected. By integrating video into your unified communications strategy, you will be able to avoid the gridlocked traffic that London will experience or the increased air travel costs that will undoubtedly be imposed on travellers into London during the games. Whether your company is based in London or you simply have staff who regularly do business in the city – NOW is the time to consider video communications!

Cisco TelePresence provides an immersive high-definition video experience that makes you feel as you are sitting across the table from your colleagues, customers, partners and suppliers.  Immersive video quality doesn’t have to come at a huge cost;  Cisco are also giving customers the opportunity to take advantage of the Easylease 0% financing option until July 2012.

As a Cisco TelePresence Video Master Authorised Technology Provider (ATP), CityIS are talking to a number of UK based companies who are assessing the impact that the Olympics will have on their daily operations.  To check if you’re ready for London 2012 why not assess your preparation for the games, read Cisco’s Games Readiness Checklist and get ahead now!

The new workplace model will unify communication and collaboration in ways that were simply not possible in a client-server desktop world, as Gartner stated, ‘People don’t want computers. They want to relate, share, communicate, enjoy, learn, discover, analyse, and create.’

Transforming communications and collaboration in the workplace

The Millennials who grew up watching YouTube and using digital video are natural adopters of video, particularly on mobile devices. The latest forecasts predict that by 2015 mobile video data traffic will represent two thirds of all mobile data traffic, up from half at the end of 2010.

IT must embrace video as a native aspect of the new workplace – communication modes will be integrated to allow users to easily communicate with each other – for example, a user on a tablet device will be able to share voice, video and data with a user in a telepresence room.

The concept of presence will be central to this capability because the definition of presence will expand beyond just available or busy to include status, device, time, location and available bandwidth. By registering this expanded definition of presence with the network, the network will be able to notify peer nodes and devices as to the best way to set up, monitor and tune a communications and collaboration experience with other parties according to what capabilities their devices provide and their particular location.

Unite communications across Windows, Apple and Androids with Cisco Jabber

Be more productive from anywhere on any device with Cisco Jabber, a new unified communications application. Cisco Jabber provides a simple way to find the right person, see if they are available and collaborate using the preferred method or device.

Cisco Jabber is a unified communication application for PC, Mac, tablet and smartphone that streamlines communications by integrating presence, IM, voice, video, voice messaging, desktop sharing and conferencing into a single client.

Collaborate in a post PC world

The information revolution that we are part of is distinctive – giving us the ability to connect to anyone, anywhere, using any device. There is no need to imagine what our future will be like – watch Cisco Collaboration Revolution now!

Rather than resisting the trend, why not figure out the game-changing benefits of embracing the new principles – get social, mobile, virtual and visual!

Start today – visit www.cisco.com/go/jabber

Similarly, the deployment of  telepresence in enterprises worldwide is starting to really take off. A growing number of businesses are starting to use telepresence throughout their business: allowing them to improve collaboration amongst colleagues and improve customer service all whilst saving vast amounts of money in travel costs every year. Cisco is helping to drive video collaboration throughout all levels of the organisation – from the boardroom, to the desktop and even to remote workers. This is all supported by an intelligent network that can support high-definition Cisco TelePresence video meetings without loss of quality, jitter and delay. Once seen as a “nice to have” tool for the Fortune 500′s, Cisco TelePresence is fast becoming more accessible to SME’s as it gives a rapid return on investment from just the travel savings alone!

For a number of businesses, particularly SME’s, Skype will be the first application they look at because it’s well-known and will not require much in the way of a budget. But Skype is not an immersive high-definition experience – it’s a free application that ticks some of the boxes in terms of video collaboration. What Skype doesn’t give enterprises, is IT control. The reality is that Skype – if chosen by any organisation – has to run on a corporate network, and the IT department have no control over it. They will not be able to administer the call control, manage the bandwidth, user policies etc. These are the real issues that corporate solutions are procured against. An IT department in an organisation that allows an uncontrollable bandwidth application loose on a network is not a wise move! The ultimate objective for SME’s is to grow the business, and as they grow they must be able to scale video across the business in order to improve collaboration , reduce travel costs and increase productivity. As a growing number of companies deploy telepresence across the business and video becomes a key collaboration tool in replacing traditional business meetings, the difference between Skype and telepresence will become all the more evident.

What we are witnessing in the video communications industry is the emergence of Skype colliding against the effect of telepresence becoming more affordable to the SME market. Some businesses might use Skype for adhoc video calls or for a catch up with colleagues and be quite happy with it, for now. However, if you want to achieve improved collaboration throughout the organisation using video, Skype is not the answer. Cisco TelePresence delivers a high definition, immersive experience whether you’re on the road, in the office or taking part in an executive board meeting all on a network that is able to support and control the quality of the experience!

Seeing in believing – Check out Cisco TelePresence in action!

Why now?

Video accounts for more than 50 percent of Internet traffic at the moment and according to Cisco, this figure will reach 90% by 2015.

In developed countries, the economy is heavily services-led rather than manufacturing-led, and what tends to happen is that people use services that are ‘hyper-local’ because they can trust those services – they can see it for themselves. Well, video has the ability to bring services that people trust even closer to us: whether it be having a check-up from the doctor or talking to a bank manager – this can be done from the comfort of our own home or even our office!

Jouret highlights the transition of video as no longer being in ‘pilot-mode’ but being in the ‘scale-mode’.  As the consumerization of IT continues to take place in companies across all different types of industries, whereby desktop landscapes are completely evolving  and  a ‘network centric approach’  without changing endpoints becomes more common,  video is becoming accessible to everybody across all levels of the enterprise!

7 Ways to Use Video in the Enterprise

Business Meetings

The most common use of video traditionally, but now companies are expanding the deployment of video outside of the boardroom to the desktop, the home office and other remote locations across more geographies, which means more people can participate in meetings and make better and faster decisions.

Seminars & Events

Most large enterprises regularly host events; whether it be for customers, partners or colleagues. These events tend to be broadcast from one location with a range of speakers out to a large audience, such as the recent Cisco Live event 2011.

Security

Today, about 20% of surveillance is IP enabled and security departments are now more commonly looking at connecting security video devices to the network.

Training & Education

In certain industries, employee turnover is very high; for example banking companies lose 40% of staff each year.  To bridge the knowledge gap, a growing number of enterprises are using video to train new staff without having to fly experts all over the world.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Increasingly, organisations who are performing well – despite the challenging economic situation -  are taking the opportunity to buy other companies. Companies are going IPO, companies are changing their strategy, so in order to manage change, video is being deployed throughout organisations who are merging to ensure successful integration of mixed company cultures and values.

Advertising

Particularly common in retail and banking, digital signage allows companies to replace traditional forms of point-of-sale such as brochures and posters with digital content that is easier to update, can be tailored to the audience and can incorporate interactive elements.

Expert on Demand

We’re seeing this deployed particularly in services-led industries such as healthcare and banking. In banking for example, if you have a specific question about insurance, your advisor will  put you in touch with an expert, but the expert is not in the branch; so they can be brought to you instantly with video.

CityIS, a Viju Group company, is a global video communications specialist. Together, we are setting the standard for video conferencing, telepresence, audio visual integration and collaboration & visualisation solutions.

We are a Cisco Premier certified partner and have recently been recognised as a Cisco TelePresence Video Master Authorised Technology Provider (ATP).

Contact us today to discuss your video strategy or visit www.cityis.com for more information on our video communications solutions.